Editorial: Prepare for the worst weather, and more

Sunday

Jun 23, 2013 at 2:00 AM

With the memories and damage of Superstorm Sandy still strong, the time was right for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to propose a sweeping program that would help protect New York City from the inevitable storms to come.

With the memories and damage of Superstorm Sandy still strong, the time was right for Mayor Michael Bloomberg to propose a sweeping program that would help protect New York City from the inevitable storms to come.

The price, admittedly an estimate, was stunning — $20 billion. And the reaction was even more alarming because many made the solid case that even that amount for the things the governor proposed might not be enough.

As with all major projects, this one will now break up into its component parts and it will be hard to keep track of the overall goal — minimizing future damage.

Nobody knows where the money will come from, whether the next mayor will agree, or how the plans will fare when subjected to scrutiny that will start at the block and go up to the city, state and federal levels.

What everybody knows, however, is that this type of planning cannot stop in the Bronx. Two stormy years should be enough to have every government leader asking the same questions and pushing for local plans, if only to keep the conversation going.

Remember Sandy? What are we going to do when the next one hits? And what if it's worse?

If a mayor or supervisor or legislator is not already engaged in that conversation, the constituents should start the dialogue. And this should not be limited to storms. As the mayor's report noted, by the middle of the century New York City is likely to be as warm as Birmingham, Ala., is today.

The storms are only one example, albeit the most concentrated, of the effects of global warming — and the urgent need to get ready.